The Pony Express Goes Transcontinental

The city of Sacramento, in Sacramento county, by the Sacramento river is our next topic of conversation here on the Labor Day in May blog. Our team in Sacramento will be toiling away in the WPA Rock Garden in William Land Park on May 15th. That's Crystal Grant, Jerry Griffin and Jerry Mina way out west. In this case "WPA" is the Works Progress Administration, one of the New Deal programs. The garden was built back in 1940 to keep the jobless busy and is still a delightful spot to visit today, largely due to the efforts of volunteers.

So what's what in sunny Sacramento? Poor Sacramento, always being upstaged by its siblings, San Francisco, L.A. and San Diego. Could it be the Native American, rather than Spanish, name? Hard to say, but Sacramento really had it going on back in the day. It was the terminus for the Pony Express and the first transcontinental railroad! All roads led to Sacramento, it seems.

Rumor has it that after the flood of 1851 (just as no Behind The Music episode is complete with a fight against major drug addiction, no historic city's tale can be told without flood or fire or both), the governor cleverly had all the buildings raised. All the first floors became basements which where then connected in a series of tunnels which might have been used as opium dens. (Flood and drug addiction! Beat that VH-1!). Today you can still catch a glimpse of Old Sacramento by heading to a place named...Old Sacramento. Old Sacramento boasts over 50 protected historic buildings, which is pretty impressive in this age of newer, better, faster. Out of work actors are enslaved to dress in 1850s garb and show tourists what life was like in the wild, wild west while crying into their beer during off-hours and pleading with the Actors' Equity Association for their union cards. Plenty of parking is available.

But what of New Sacramento? Nestled in a part of the country with gloriously mild weather, the west's largest railroad museum and free WiFi, it would seem this town is the perfect destination. If you visit California's capitol city you'll be greeted by theatres, museums, coffee shops, bars, a zoo, a beautiful riverfront and, according to one website, innumerable modern facilities. A happy combination of old and new and an Engle Martin office? This place rocks (annnnnnnnnnnd we've come back around to the rock garden).